Thoreaus Elements of American Romanticism Essay -- essays research pap

Elements of Ameri mountain RomanticismHenry David Thoreau pens his book Walden during a revolutionary period of clock known as American Romanticism. The literary movement of American Romanticism began roughly between the years of 1830 and 1860. It is believed to be a chapter of time in which those who had been displease by the Age of Reason were revolting through works of literature. All elements of Romanticism are in sharp, abrupt contrast to those types of ideas such as a posteriori observation and rationality. An online article describes American Romanticism in the following manner, They celebrated imagination/intuition versus reason/calculation, spontaneity versus control, subjectivity and metaphysical musing versus aim fact, revolutionary energy versus tradition, individualism versus social conformity, democracy versus monarchy, and so on (Strickland). In 1845 during that period of time, Thoreau decides to spend two years of his life in an look into with Mother Nature in a cabin at Walden Pond. He tells exquisite tales of life in natural surroundings in his book, Walden, through a most primitive organic style. Walden is a key work of American Romanticism because of its embedded ideas of privacy, individualism, pantheism and intuition.Romanticism seeks nature as a means for obtaining knowledge, and composition Thoreau heavily spends his time in the woods and around the pond by himself, he inevitably feels a sense of solitude. Solitude is not necessarily desolation or intentional isolation of oneself. It is merely an acknowledgment of the fact that he or she is alone. Thoreau has his own thoughts about solitude in which he writesIn the midst of a gentle rain while these thoughts prevailed, I was suddenly sensible of such sweet and beneficent society in Nature, in the very pattering of the drops, and in every sound and sight around my house, an infinite and unaccountable friendliness all at once like an atmosphere sustaining me, as made the fiction al advantages of human neighborhood insignificant, and I have never thought of them since. Every little pine needle expanded and swelled with sympathy and befriended me. (88-89)He acknowledges his hold from humanity in the preceding passage, yet he does not feel lonely because Nature upholds him. Additionally, he clearly states that the living organisms around him are what he dwells upon for his emotional su... ...ing Henry David Thoreau into a prominent American Romantic writer. Such elements include his writings about life in Nature having neat solitude he became friends with the surrounding plants and animals. Secondly, he wrote about what was occurring day to day at Waldens Pond which showed him as being individualistic. Moreover, there was the idea that God can only be found in nature, and pantheism was constant idea in his book. Finally, Thoreau wrote about intuition as a means of obtaining knowledge, and his use of senses as a tool for building intuition. These ideas time and time again show the various aspects of Thoreau being portrayed as an American Romantic which has lead to a great historical achievement as a writer that he well deserves.Works CitedHarrison, Paul. Frequently Asked Questions about Pantheism. (1996). 10 declination 2004 .Pohle, Nancy C. and Selover, Ellen L. Awareness & Intuition. 10 December 2004 .Stata, Raymie. What is Individualism. (1992). 10 December 2004 .Strickland, Brad. AMERICAN ROMANTICISM (1828-1865) OVERVIEW. (1997). 10 December 2004 .Thoreau, Henry David. Walden and Civil Disobedience. New York W. Norton & Company, Inc, 1966.